Right now, a young woman named Kristin Henry is starving herself to try to protect the Peace River Valley. She hasn't eaten since March 13 and she has sworn not to eat until the Site C dam has been stopped. She is already facing serious health risks, and the likelihood of permanent physical consequences grows with every day this hunger strike continues. She has been joined by other hunger strikers who agree that construction of the Site C dam cannot continue.

This drastic action should never have been necessary.

The Site C dam poses a threat to the wildlife, agriculture, and cultural heritage of the Peace River Valley. The biodiversity which is at risk is valuable not only in and of itself, but also for its importance for traditional ways of life for the Treaty 8 First Nations. BC agrologist Wendy Holm has estimated that the Peace River Valley could feed one million people due to its unique micro-climate, alluvial soils, and access to water, which is a significant loss when we are facing a future of food insecurity. The sacred sites, burial grounds, and other cultural and historical places which will be flooded are utterly irreplaceable.

Under your predecessor, Canada voted against the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In December 2015 you promised to partner "with Indigenous communities, the provinces, territories, and other vital partners, (to) fully implement the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, starting with the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples". The time to implement Call to Action 92(i) of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is now. Call to Action 92(i) asks the corporate sector in Canada to "commit to meaningful consultation, building respectful relationships, and obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before proceeding with economic development projects."

The Treaty 8 First Nations have not provided consent to the Site C dam. At the very least, this requires an immediate halt to construction in the Peace River Valley, as anything less amounts to an infringement of aboriginal treaty rights and a breach of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Both of these multilateral treaties protect the rights of indigenous peoples to practice their way of life, and to control and protect land and resources to that end. This is a matter of human rights, and it is time the Government of Canada afforded Treaty 8 First Nations the same human rights afforded to the rest of its citizens.

During your campaign, you promised to build a "renewed nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous Peoples,” and we're holding you to that promise. We're calling for an immediate halt to the construction of the Site C dam, until the Treaty 8 First Nations have been appropriately consulted, the current court cases by the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations have concluded, and the BC Utilities Commission has completed an independent review of the project.